


There's Something Magic About You

by Nienna_Mithrandir



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 01:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10606887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nienna_Mithrandir/pseuds/Nienna_Mithrandir
Summary: James realizing that Lily has begun fancying him/has fallen in love with him





	

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the people or the world they reside in, just a fan of them both

Thick summer air hung heavily over the students that afternoon, pressing down on their shoulders and wrapping them in a heavenly heat that had some students dozing peacefully on their desks as Professor Binns droned on and on and on about the Goblin war of 1683, or something like that, James had stopped paying attention ages ago.

Rather, he preoccupied himself with staring across the room at Lily Evans. If he’d been any younger and even the slightest bit more ashamed of his infatuation with the witch, then James probably would’ve tried to hide his gaze, or perhaps even disguise it somehow. But, since he was seventeen and since he’d spent so many years chasing after and seeking out the red head, James found no reason not to simply sit there, head propped up in one hand, and openly gawk at the majesty that was Lily’s beauty.

She held herself with a silent confidence and grace of the kind James could only assume he’d never witnessed before.

Like the rest of the class, the promise of escaping their last lesson of the day bore down upon her, leaving her back bent slightly forwards, her elbows propped up onto the table top, one hand curled around her roll of parchment, keeping it pinned down against the wood beneath it so it would be ready for her next line of notes. Of course, she didn’t seem to be listening too intently to the lesson either. In fact the only things that she’d recorded down onto the sheet in front of her was the date of the Goblin war the Professor was still speaking about, and some kind of doodle off to the side that James couldn’t make out from where he sat.

Her head was tilted slightly to the side, sending hair rolling in auburn waves down over one shoulder to hang like a curtain over the right side of her face, the feather end of her quill caught in a few strands as she mindlessly twirled them around and around the writing implement. Her face was turned away from the lecture and James could only assume that she was staring out the window nearest to her, probably dreaming of the warm breezes of sweet air and the soft slide of grass under bare feet sitting no more than a hundred yards away out in the grounds. And time was bringing them ever closer to it.

The arch of her back was quite extraordinary, James decided then. Her spine dipped into the valley between her shoulder blades almost enticingly, and James followed the path of it down until his gaze had fallen to her feet. They were tucked back underneath her chair, one ankle hooked over the other, as they swayed slowly back and forth beneath her, swinging as if they were keeping time, holding a lazy rhythm back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.

“James… For Christ’s sake, Potter, would you look at me for a moment?”

Two fingers appeared right in his line of sight, disrupting his view of Lily as they snapped quickly three times, making his head spin in surprise and almost sending him falling backwards as he lost his balance for a moment. His hand shot out, curling around the back of Sirius’ seat (who was currently taking the lesson as a napping period, his head laid down on the desk atop each of his hands, a nice river of drool leaking from the corner of his mouth down onto the desk). He carefully leveraged himself back onto all four feet of the chair, taking a moment to center himself before he glanced up to Marlene where the girl had spun around in her seat to speak to him, dropping even the barest of facades that she was paying any attention in the class.

With a heavy sigh and a shake of his head, James shoved his glasses up into his hair with the tips of his fingers as the heels of his hands settled over his eyes, rubbing roughly a few times before he righted himself once more, nose wiggling ever so slightly as his glasses settled down. “Merlin, Marlene, calm yourself. What in the world is so important that you had to…” He waved his hand limply, about to gesture in Lily’s direction though he hastily changed his mind, instead just motioning meaninglessly in front of his own face.

James was quite displeased with the how smug she looked in that moment, and he narrowed his eyes accusingly as he leaned back in his seat, long legs stretching forwards under the desk as he folded his arms over his chest, doing his absolute best to communicate how unhappy he was with her just then. “Oh, my bad, Potter, how dare I interrupt your fantasizing session. How ridiculously cruel of me, I’ll just let you go right back to it, then.”

James Potter didn’t blush, it wasn’t something he was even physically capable of, simply because he didn’t have enough shame to feel embarrassment, but he was never closer to it than in that moment.

Marlene gave him a moment to respond, staring at him expectantly for his witty response, her grin only growing when he didn’t manage to come up with anything quickly. “Thought so. You’re an idiot, Potter.”

“Oi, McKinnon, I didn’t come here to be judged by you.”

“Right, you came here to ogle Lily, hm?”

“Not true,” his words slid past his lips with a huff as he shifted unhappily in his seat, adjusting himself to set his shoulders back as if that would help him maintain his pride. “I came here to learn. For you to insinuate any differently is highly offensive.”

His defense was met with a quiet scoff and a roll of brown eyes as the witch dragged her chair forwards, the wooden legs dragging angrily across the stone floor before she propped her arms up onto his desk, folding her arms one over the other as she leaned in closer to him, her confidence making him uncomfortable.

“You misunderstood me, James, I’m not calling you an idiot for having the thoughts, I’m calling you an idiot for not acting on them.” She dragged out the sentence, placing a pause between every word as if she were talking to a particularly slow child, James’ lips turning downwards in an unamused frown.

“As much joy as it would bring you, McKinnon, I’m not hoping to be slapped anytime soon.” Her snort cut off the ending of his thought and he sighed softly, letting his eyes drift back to Lily only for a moment, catching a glimpse of bright green eyes peeking over her shoulder as she watched the two of them in confusion before he snapped his gaze back to Marlene, stilling in his seat, incredibly self-conscious now that he knew her eyes were on him. 

“For Merlin’s sake, open your eyes would you? Do you need your prescription refilled or something? The girl’s mad for you,” she threw her arm out, gesturing broadly towards the redhead in the corner, bringing his attention back to Lily where she had turned herself about completely to watch the two of them, looking far more interested than she had before, her head tilted in towards them in an effort to hear. 

He cleared his throat quietly and leaned in closer towards Marlene, pitching his voice down low as he reached out to pull her arm back to the table top rather than leaving it floating there, pointing quite obviously towards Evans. “You’re not as funny as you think you are, and I’m not as big of an idiot as you seem to assume. I’ve given up on her. Moved right on past it and gotten on with my life, just like she told me to, all because she absolutely wants nothing to do with me. She’s made that more than apparent over the years, and I’ve decided that I”m done trying to force myself into her life if she doesn’t want me there.” 

“Alright. Let me set things straight for you,” she plowed right on ahead, not bothering to stop and listen to a thing that he had told her before she was making her point once more. She shifted in her seat, propping her elbows on the table to free her hands up to talk, holding up fingers as she counted off her different points. “One: I’m amazingly hilarious, don’t ever doubt that. Two: You’re one of the most imbecile people I’ve met in my life aside from him,” She jerked her head to the side and indicated Sirius where he’d begun murmuring to himself in his sleep, his eyelids fluttering. “And three: While I would lie about a great many things, Lily Evans’ affections are not one of those things. To be blunt, I’ve done everything in my power to argue her out of fancying you, and she just can’t seem to get her head on straight. So, simply because she’s my closest friend, and I want her to be happy, I’m telling you that she’s absolutely smitten with you and if you so much as say one word to her, she’ll be all over you in an instant.” 

Silence settled between the pair, her last words seeming to linger in the air, almost tangible in front of him as he considered them, his lips pursed disbelievingly as he looked her over as if her body language would give away the lie she had to be telling him just then. 

The chiming of the clock signaling the end of the hour cut through the classroom and disrupted James’ thoughts. He blinked a few times, glancing around as students immediately bolted up from their seats and began to move towards the doors, shoving their things away quickly in an effort to get out of the room faster. 

Sirius jerked awake in his seat, sitting straight up and nearly toppling out of the chair altogether as he got his bearings, sluggishly standing and pulling his bag on his shoulder.

James and Marlene’s eyes met one last time as she arched a brow in his direction and returned to her own table to pack her things up. Shaking his head, James turned to his own materials, rolling up his unused parchment and capping his ink well before piling everything into his bag, hooking the strap over his shoulder and standing just as Lily hurried over towards Marlene, the textbook clutched to her chest, her notes tucked in between the pages, edges of the parchment sticking out a bit haphazardly in her own rush to get to supper. Just as he was turning to leave, a small cluster of words caught James’ eye on her paper, and he paused for a moment to stare at it more intently. There, on the corner of Lily’s paper were two lines of text, both with a thin line through them, reading: 

~~_Lily Potter_ ~~

~~_Lily Evans-Potter_ ~~

James found himself nearly frozen in place the weight of Marlene’s words returning to him in an instant, making his head spin with his realization. 

“Oi. Prongs. Mate. Arsehole. Move it. I’m starved and Remus and Peter have probably already beaten us downstairs.” James stumbled a bit as Sirius’ bag collided with his legs, the other boy urging him onwards impatiently, his words just a bit slurred and his eyelids drooped as he was still recovering from his nap. Shoving the other boy in petty revenge, James turned his back on the two witches still talking near the front of the classroom, letting Sirius drag him down to the Dining Hall. 

 

* * *

 

While very few people would describe James Potter as a thoughtful individual, James took his time deciding how exactly to approach Lily the next time he saw her. Perhaps he’d play it cool and simply ask her out on a date like he had all those times back in fifth year. Or maybe he’d be bold and outgoing and simply sweep her into his arms and kiss her dramatically. Or he could always pretend that he’d had no idea of her affections for him and wait until Lily finally gained the confidence to confess her feelings.

The last option didn’t sound entirely plausible and James decided it would be better to act in his own best interests and simply make the first move. 

His thoughts left him more than a bit preoccupied throughout dinner, continuing to distract him as he and the other Marauders went out onto the grounds, laying themselves out under the gradually setting sun, their arms and legs splayed out as they soaked up the heat, memorizing how the rays of the sun settled into their skin so they could have something comforting once the summer left them and the rains returned. 

The four of them remained outside for quite some time, lingering beside the Great Lake until the sun began to dip down below the horizon, extending the shadows around them and tinging everything orange. Remus pushed himself up from the grass, dusting himself off briefly before announcing that it was just about time for them all to be heading back inside so as to start in on their homework. 

Sirius, Peter, and James all groaned in unison at the thought, but each forced themselves back onto their feet, though they all continued to complain under their breaths. They hadn’t made it more than ten steps towards the castle when James spotted Lily sitting alone beneath a tree, her shoes laying off to the side so her bare feet could settle comfortably into the grass, a book propped up on her knees and a contented smile on her face. 

Muttering a half-baked excuse, James started towards her, each step almost surreal as he sank into the soft bed of grass, making it feel for a few seconds as if he wasn’t moving at all. Even with the sensation, he seemed to reach her far too quickly, all of his previous thoughts of how to approach the witch disappearing from his head and leaving him standing in front of her in silence. He simply stared, his hands shoved into his trouser pockets, his shirt untucked and his tie completely undone where it was draped over his shoulders. Self-doubt began to settle over his mind, and just as quickly as he had approached, he was ready to start back for the castle again, run to his mates and tell them that he’d changed his mind. 

“Do you need something?” 

The words were quiet, teasing, rooting James to the spot as his gaze locked with hers, her eyes making his heart pound solidly into his ribcage and his hands sweat where they were clenched nervously in his pockets. 

“Well, no, not really. Not anything in particular at least…” He managed after a moment, dragging his eyes away from hers and instead focussing on the delicate path her hair followed  where it fell down over her chest, colored almost as dark as blood in the sunset. He carefully moved forwards, taking his time, part of him still sure that she would insist that he leave.

Seating himself beside her, he shifted back and forth for a moment, shimmying backwards until he could rest solidly against the trunk of the tree, ignoring the slightly uncomfortable sensation of the bark pressing into his back and pulling at his shirt. 

Lily offered him a small smile that shocked him into complete silence before she resumed reading, putting all of her focus back into the text in front of her as James’ mind scrambled to invent something to say to her. 

“You’re far more cliché than I ever thought you would be, Evans,” is finally the thought that managed to leave his tongue, and his lips are pulled down at the corners to form a frown the moment he heard his own voice. 

“Pardon?” She hummed, slowly closing the book around her thumb so as to keep her page. She settled the tome onto her lap, straightening out her legs and looking up at him with one brow arched expectantly, seeming almost amused by his words. 

“Well, I can imagine plenty of girls writing out their married names, I just never thought that you’d be one of them.” 

Her cheeks burn red in an instant and James is sure in that moment that he’d never seen anything as amazing. 

“I… I don’t… I…” Her excuse falters and dies right there in the air in front of them. They both know exactly what she did and he can see her mind working to work out some explanation, some kind of rationalization for whatever it is that she’s been feeling for however long she’s been experiencing it. 

James would love to take pity on her, but part of him is just so thrilled with the way she looks in that moment and the way she’s looking at him that he can’t quite manage to hold himself back from teasing her just a bit more. 

“I’m honestly a bit insulted that I had to find out this way. Hearing the news of our engagement from your History of Magic notes was horribly embarrassing, I do hope you’ll be a bit more forward with me once we’re married proper.” 

Her jaw goes slightly slack and her eyes widen comically and before he can stop himself, James is doubled over with laughter, hiccuping with his delight, his shoulders jumping with each hitch in his breathing. And before long she’s using her book against him, hitting him on the shoulder and telling him off, though he doesn’t take her all too seriously as her musical laughter joins his own, ringing through the air as the perfect accompaniment to his own joy. 

“You ought to be right ashamed of yourself, James Potter. That was downright cruel what you just did, embarrassing me like that.” She only spoke once they’d both calmed down, her words filling the space that their giggling had left and making James smile happily, not looking the least bit sorry for what he’d done. 

“You should be whacking Marlene, not me. She’s the one who insisted that I ask you out once more in our last class. She kept telling me that you were completely taken with me. So really, if you’re going to be mad at anyone, it should be her.” He hummed, leaning back against the tree, now almost laying flat upon the ground, having slipped forward some while laughing. 

“I’ll make sure she’s beaten as well.” She hummed, setting her book off to the side and pulling her legs in closer to her. Her hair fell forwards to hide her face as she stared down at her lap, suddenly shy in front of him. He sat up a bit more in response, pushing auburn curls out of the way to stare at her expectantly, waiting for any kind of reaction. 

Poking her cheek, he waited until her eyes were on him once more before he spoke. “I suppose if it makes you feel any better we can save our marriage for a bit. We could try a date first. If you let me take you out to Hogsmede there’s a very good chance that we could have a wonderful time… Thought I can’t promise that I won’t spill something on you. I’ve been known to do that in the past.” 

The smile that crept up her cheek seemed to light up her entire face, her features practically glowing in the low light of the world around them, the sun almost completely gone at that point, sinking down into the earth. 

“I think I’d like that.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Always happy to take prompts like the one that inspired this story! Send me a message or leave a comment below -- Thanks!


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